How did you discover the Camino?

[Purple Backpack]

I was posting on a thread for a first time pilgrim who was thinking of canceling their trip. It made me think back to when I first learned of pilgrimages, especially since they are not part of American culture and we don't have the history that Europeans are so very fortunate to have in their backyards. I am curious to see how others found out about these unique experiences and am looking forward to some good stories. I'll start things off:

July 19, 2011.

Our family arrived in Oslo, hoping to find my grandfather's farm and a heritage I craved to know more about. The area is gorgeous, filled with emerald valleys, deep, dark fjords and steep mountains. We wandered from Eidsvold to Vik, never finding the actual farm but stood in the ancestral churchyard, walked the banks of the fjords and pondered why my family left such a beautiful place, not realizing the challenges of a new country that lay ahead.

Three days later, a mad man destroyed young lives on an island near the hotel where we had stayed. As we traveled first to Bergen, then far north to the Arctic Circle, candles appeared in town squares and windows, in remembrance of the victims. It was a somber time for Norway and our traveling family, witnessing an open culture deal with horrific violence not seen since World War 2.

July 29, 2011.

The trip was timed to end in the city of Trondheim, to see the medieval festival of St. Olav, whose tomb was historically a place of miracles and an ancient pilgrimage site. I had read of jousting, costumed performers and an outdoor pageant play recreating Olav's last battle, complete with knights on horseback. It was so much fun and we ended our trip with midnight mass in the gothic cathedral. We arrived early and were touched to see mirrors lining the center aisle, filled with lit candles, sparkling in memory of the shooting victims. Vatican cardinals filed into the pews in front of us, bedecked in full red regalia from head to toe, to celebrate the life and death of the saint. This was all beautiful, sad and a little surreal but then something happened that caught me even more off guard.

Worshippers trickled in, dressed in hiking shorts, worn boots and carrying wooden staffs. We're from the mountains, where everyone dresses that way but not for church. I was intrigued and learned after the service that these were pilgrims, who had trekked for a month from Oslo to Trondheim to celebrate the life of this saint. They were at the mass to receive a blessing after their pilgrimage.

I came home from that trip, intrigued by the thought of walking with a spiritual purpose and, let's be honest, by the sheer adventure aspect of it. I learned the history of pilgrimages and studied all the various routes, fascinated that people had walked for hundreds or even thousands of years to Trondheim, Jerusalem, Rome and Santiago de Compostela. This wasn't just a vacation, it was an entire culture that I desperately wanted to experience.

And so it began...

 

[mspath]

Be sure to check out the various posts on this topic in this earlier Forum thread.
https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/when-did-you-first-become-camino-conscious.35847/

 

[Purple Backpack]

Be sure to check out the various posts on this topic in this earlier Forum thread.
https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/when-did-you-first-become-camino-conscious.35847/

Thanks! I searched before starting a new thread but didn't see this one!

 

[VNwalking]

I was a kid, and had received a deliciously fat and glossy National Geographic book about the Middle Ages for Christmas. And there was a chapter on pilgrimage with a photo of a young woman embracing the statue of St James in Santiago. I loved that book. And that photo fascinated me--it was (to my mind) weird, and mysterious: Why in the world would someone do that? How bizarre! And all the gold and jewels!!
At the time, I couldn't have imagined in a million years that I would go there myself, and every time I go up there to pay respects, I can't help but remember that book.
[Edit--it was this one. The internet is astonishing sometimes--I only wish I could look inside to see if it's as wonderful a photo as I remember!]

 

[Bradypus]

Much simpler story for me. My mother-in-law walked from St Jean in 1985 as part of an international group. I met her for the first time later that year. She was enthusiastic about the experience. So when I had time and money enough I walked it too.

 

[Purple Backpack]

Much simpler story for me. My mother-in-law walked from St Jean in 1985 as part of an international group. I met her for the first time later that year. She was enthusiastic about the experience. So when I had time and money enough I walked it too.

I wonder what it was like back then! Was the trail a relatively new concept after years of "sleeping"?

 

[mspath]

I wonder what it was like back then! Was the trail a relatively new concept after years of "sleeping"?

To read more of the modern camino boom which mostly began with the scholarly historical research and extraordinary efforts undertaken by Don Elias Valina Sampedro who was priest at O Cebreiro in the latter 20th century read more about him in this link. It was he who painted the first yellow arrows which mark the modern route; he is buried in the O Cebreiro church and many churchyard inscriptions honor him and his work.

 

[KinkyOne]

First time anybody asked me that question was on my second Camino in 2011 and I couldn't remember how or when I first heard of Camino de Santiago. A year or two later I realised it was while watching this movie:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0429052/?ref_=nv_sr_1

 

[Bradypus]

I wonder what it was like back then! Was the trail a relatively new concept after years of "sleeping"?

By the time I walked in 1990 the revival was well under way. Yellow arrows were in place, guidebooks were available and there was already a chain of refugios. Far fewer, more thinly spread, smaller and more basic than today's albergues. Some stages of around 30km were necessary. Given the very small number of walkers they were adequate though. A few were simply bare rooms with concrete floors and access to a toilet and cold water. So it was necessary to carry a mat. Most had basic bunk beds and cold showers. I walked in July and August and on most days saw no other pilgrims. For 1/3 or more of my nights I was alone in the refugios. Most of the smaller villages along the Frances were in very poor condition and few had bars which were open. Similarly water was in shorter supply and it was necessary to carry larger bottles. Overall a more challenging proposition. In 1990 about 5,000 people were given a Compostela and presumably like today most had begun walking closer to Santiago. Last year there were 277,854. You can probably imagine that it was a far quieter and more solitary experience than today.

 

[Purple Backpack]

First time anybody asked me that question was on my second Camino in 2011 and I couldn't remember how or when I first heard of Camino de Santiago. A year or two later I realised it was while watching this movie:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0429052/?ref_=nv_sr_1

I want to see this film! The review said it was about three fighting siblings who had to walk the Camino in order to get their inheritance. But I can't find it anywhere. Any idea how to watch it? Thanks!

 

[Purple Backpack]

To read more of the modern camino boom which mostly began with the scholarly historical research and extraordinary efforts undertaken by Don Elias Valina Sampedro who was priest at O Cebreiro in the latter 20th century read more about him in this link. It was he who painted the first yellow arrows which mark the modern route; he is buried in the O Cebreiro church and many churchyard inscriptions honor him and his work.

It's in Spanish so it's going to take me a while to cut and paste to Google translator. I really appreciate the time you take to find links for everyone. I'm interested in the history of pilgrimages so look forward to reading this story tonight!

 

[DurhamParish]

I first heard about the Camino when our "Adult Forum" study group at our church read Paulo Cohelo's book "The Way". The way he wrote the book I wasn't sure if "The Camino" was even a real thing; but then one day I ran across it on Wikipedia and began to learn more about it. I tried it, Porto to Santiago in 2012, and now I'm hopelessly addicted.

 

[Mark Lee]

Good old Rick Steves and his episode on northern Spain. Funny thing is, I had never even watched a full episode of his show before and initially watched that one because it had San Fermin festivities in it and came across it whilst channel surfing. I had no idea the Camino existed before then. Later while talking to my older brother, I told him that and he told me he had read about the Camino twenty years earlier. I got kind of aggravated with him for not telling me, ha ha.

 

[maevlilu]

I don't remember when I first heard of the Camino, but I remember when I began to think about the Camino. Back in 2009 my mother was diagnosed with cancer, leukemia. The first week, when she started her treatment, she received a book about the Camino Frances. She and my father started to talk about it, and I think for my mum it became a dream and a hope. But she never got the possibility to walk, she died in 2012 and only 10 months after also my father died in cancer. So now I will walk the Camino Frances, in memory of my parents, but also for me, taking time for myself, when I still have the chance.

 

[waveprof]

My wife has known about it since college when she studied in Spain (she's a spanish professor now). I learned about it when she and I started visiting San Sebastian (where we now live in summers), which is on the Norte and has lots of pilgrims.

The great irony about this is that the first time my wife mentioned it to me (when we were dating, over a decade ago) I said "why would anyone waste a trip to Europe walking across it." Fastforward a few years and there we were, three generations (including a 63 year old grandmother and 13 month old grandson) hiking the Camino.

My mother found out about the camino from the charlie sheen movie. Mentioned to us she was interested. We had been talking about it for a while, but my wife was pregnant so we had planned to wait a decade or so. My mother didn't want to wait a decade at her age, we all started talking, our son turned out to be a particularly chill/adaptable baby, so we decided to give it a shot while he was still small enough to carry. 500 miles later.....

 

[Doogman]

Over the years I had walked a number of long distance paths in the UK, starting with Offa's Dyke Path back in 1985. In 2011 I decided to branch out and try something on the continent for a holiday. I had been in northern France on a number of occasions, but had never been in the southern half, so I decided to look into options there. I started looking at various websites that offered self-guided trips. After looking at a number of options, I decided on a trail called "The Way of St. James". At this point I knew almost nothing about the Camino or St. James, and certainly did not know that he had his own "Way". All I knew was that the trail was in southern France, it would take me about 10 days to get from Le Puy to Conques, and it sounded like an interesting walk. I am sure that the website talked about the Camino and the pilgrimage aspect, but at that time I was not interested in that angle - I just wanted to walk in France. So off I went. It took about one hour to figure out that this was something very different from any other walk I had done! That led me to do more research and learn about the history, the various routes, etc., etc.

So for me, it was all just an accident.

 

[waveprof]

I want to see this film! The review said it was about three fighting siblings who had to walk the Camino in order to get their inheritance. But I can't find it anywhere. Any idea how to watch it? Thanks!

We bought it on DVD online. Wasnt expensive. Was a used copy.

Its easily the best narrative film about the Camino IMO

 

[scott the farmer]

My grandfathers hat
Yes I know a hat is sort of essensial but this one has a history
He was a stock agent and very religious
Just before his death he asked us all to attend church more often but that wasn't to be for us
Just before my last Camino I thought he would appreciate me wearing it as I walked so it went with me
As I near my next Camino in May I am trying to decide on a more practical hat or Papas old stock hat still havent made up my mind yet
My other luxury item is my wife
my lovely lady and best friend will be walking with me from saint jean to Santiago but this is so far out of her comfort zone I am a little concerned if she will enjoy it
So if you see a pretty and brightly dressed women with a scruffy man following her that will be us starting on the 5th of May it will be a challenge but I am so glad she agreed to join me

 

[scott the farmer]

opps sorry wrong thread

 

[Mark Lee]

the charlie sheen movie.

Martin Sheen. Charlie is the substance abusing prodigal son of that acting family, but I did very much like his performances in Platoon and Wall Street.

 

[jsalt]

How did you discover the Camino?

I have absolutely no idea, as I can't remember. But whatever/whoever it was has a lot to answer for.

 

[waveprof]

Martin Sheen. Charlie is the substance abusing prodigal son of that acting family, but I did very much like his performances in Platoon and Wall Street.

Spot on. Slip of the tounge/fingers.

And, really, I should have said Emilio Estevez (Martin's son, Charlie's brother) who directed the film. But I was typing in a hurry

 

[waveprof]

PS: When Bob Dylan still had his themed radio show, the show on the theme of baseball included an interview with Charlie Sheen......an interview Dylan did impromptu on a tape recorder when he ran into Charlie at their local car wash waiting for the car to come out of the auto car wash line. I would have thought he was lying, but you could hear the carwash machine in the background, and charlie sheen had a tone of "why do you have a tape recorder in my face bob, and why are you asking me about baseball?"

 

[Turning48]

I learned about The Camino 3 years ago and I have always felt an enormous feeling of synchronicity in my story. There are 3 parts to my story.

Part I. Most years I try to attend the Newport Folk Festival in Newport, Rhode Island with friends. It's a beautiful coastal town with a lot of history and charm for those who have never heard of it. While at the festival one of my dear friends learned that I would be departing for a solo trip to Ireland 3 days after the concert. He proceeded to tell me Kinsale, Ireland is the sister city to Newport, RI and if I loved Newport, I should go there. I had never heard of Kinsale before and it wasn't on my agenda, but I decided to take his advice and go explore it because it sounded lovely and well, why not?

Part II. After departing Dublin by train to Cork, I needed to then take a bus to Kinsale. I knew didn't have much time to board the bus post arriving in town and then I was unknowingly given the wrong advice on where to stand to even catch this bus. While I was standing on the wrong corner, a man with a backpack came up and asked me if this was where we take the bus to Kinsale? Apparently he was given the wrong advice too! While standing there, we chatted briefly about why we were traveling to Kinsale and he told me he had just finished hiking The Camino and he was extending his trip to roam through Ireland. I told him I never heard of The Camino and he gave me a brief history lesson. He was likely in his mid to upper 30's, Canadian and if I had to guess, he worked in IT or was an engineer. I thought it was strange he had so much free time to not be working, so I said, "Oh, that's great! What are you doing checking out of life for a bit?" He then paused and looked me in the eye and said, "No, actually, I'm checking back into life." I felt tingles in my body and it was a deeply profound "ah-ha" moment for me. I knew then I would walk in his footsteps and when I was ready, I, too, would check back into life.

By the way, he believed we were both standing on the wrong corner and we had about 2 minutes to run as fast as we could up the street to catch our bus. He was right. We both boarded the bus in the knick of time and then we kind of lost each other...

Part III. I depart mid-May 2017. I believe in synchronicity.

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

It's in Spanish so it's going to take me a while to cut and paste to Google translator. I really appreciate the time you take to find links for everyone. I'm interested in the history of pilgrimages so look forward to reading this story tonight!

These links should do the translation for you:

intro.html​

localiza.html​

evolcion.html​

historia.html​

paroquia.html​

elemento.html​

virgen.html​

milagro.html​

caliz.html​

grial.html​

meson.html​

raices.html​

elias.html​

fiestas.html​

asocia.html​

links.html​

camara.html​

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

Peg knew of the camino from Catholic school and later, as an adult, from a friend who used to spend summers in Santiago with her father. We both liked the idea of hiking the full Appalachian Trail when younger but we were getting a bit long in the tooth for that. When we watched The Way she said "Let's do that." We had both enjoyed a previous trip to Spain so we decided to give it a go. When researching the trip I was happy to find out that the botafumeiro that had fascinated me for years was in Santiago.

 

[Mark Lee]

PS: When Bob Dylan still had his themed radio show, the show on the theme of baseball included an interview with Charlie Sheen......an interview Dylan did impromptu on a tape recorder when he ran into Charlie at their local car wash waiting for the car to come out of the auto car wash line. I would have thought he was lying, but you could hear the carwash machine in the background, and charlie sheen had a tone of "why do you have a tape recorder in my face bob, and why are you asking me about baseball?"

Talking about baseball reminds me the Baby Cakes debut next month, I think.

 

[Saint Mike II]

I first heard/read about the Camino from Tony Kevin's book - written 2005/06? He told his story of walking from Granada - he started in late May or early June so walked during the hotter months. But I have a dim distant memory of it being mentioned/referred to in an episode of the TV show "The Saint" (starred Roger Moore - long before his 007 days).
I would have loved to have walked the Camino back in the early 1990's - it would have been both a physical & a mental challenge, especially if you spoke no Spanish. Today its still the physical challenge but I feel far less of a mental one!!

 

[MinaKamina]

I have always known about it. Can't remember there was a time when I did not know about the Camino.
Recently I spoke with my mother about this and she told me that she and my father had been to various meetings where people talked about there pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. The parents never went, but the idea was to start from their front door and walk 2000 kms, as most pilgrims did. This must have been 30-40 years ago, long before internet, blogs, videos and movies.

 

[Purple Backpack]

I have always known about it. Can't remember there was a time when I did not know about the Camino.
Recently I spoke with my mother about this and she told me that she and my father had been to various meetings where people talked about there pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. The parents never went, but the idea was to start from their front door and walk 2000 kms, as most pilgrims did. This must have been 30-40 years ago, long before internet, blogs, videos and movies.

Have you gone back to their old house to begin the walk? I googled Via Limburgia but couldn't find anything on that I could understand in English. Where is this route?

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Good old Rick Steves and his episode on northern Spain. Funny thing is, I had never even watched a full episode of his show before and initially watched that one because it had San Fermin festivities in it and came across it whilst channel surfing. I had no idea the Camino existed before then. Later while talking to my older brother, I told him that and he told me he had read about the Camino twenty years earlier. I got kind of aggravated with him for not telling me, ha ha.

I too, have seen that same Rick Steve's video, but at the time it didn't resonate with me.

 

[MinaKamina]

Have you gone back to their old house to begin the walk? I googled Via Limburgia but couldn't find anything on that I could understand in English. Where is this route?

It's often written Via Limburgica, for some reason.
Map:
https://www.routeyou.com/nl-nl/rout...ia-limburgica-deel-van-santiago-de-compostela

Map of the many Caminos to Santiago in Europe:
https://www.travelblog.org/Photos/4961169

 

[Camino Chrissy]

I first heard of the Camino de Santiago from watching the Martin Sheen movie "The Way". My adult son had recently walked 1000 miles of the Appalachian Trail the year before. I'd watched some utube videos of the AT while he was away and thought it looked so adventuresome and awesome. But alas, being 60 years old I could not envision that kind of hardship, carrying a tent, setting up in potential rain, and carrying a week's worth of food with a backpack weight of 35-40 pounds...no way for this old gal. Then I saw the movie a year later and was due to retire, and I thought "Bingo, I can maybe do this!"...and so the addiction began!

 

[marciarsm]

My introduction to the Camino began in 1985 during my first trip to Europe. My Mom and I were driving across France and spent one night in Le Puy and the next night in Rocamadour. Both towns had cathedrals famous for their black madonnas. I knew both were pilgrimage churches, and thought it was because of the madonnas. There were plaques on both churches stating "Francis was here, Dominic was here, King and Queen So and So were here, etc". These two towns are actually on separate Camions which begin in France.

When I returned home (USA) I tried to research the library (card catalog days - no internet yet) and found material only in either French or Spanish. I could only learn a bit of basic facts of this pilgrimage, not the whole story.

But I never lost my interest or curiosity about the Camino. Until I met a few people who had actually walked portions of the Frances, did I actually consider walking it myself. After my first Camino in 2004, I now consider myself addicted. May 4th I'll begin my 3rd Camino out of SJPDP, turning 76 a few days after my arrival.

I didn't know that choosing these two towns as overnight stops would lead to a Camino addiction - pure serendipity.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

My introduction to the Camino began in 1985 during my first trip to Europe. My Mom and I were driving across France and spent one night in Le Puy and the next night in Rocamadour. Both towns had cathedrals famous for their black madonnas. I knew both were pilgrimage churches, and thought it was because of the madonnas. There were plaques on both churches stating "Francis was here, Dominic was here, King and Queen So and So were here, etc". These two towns are actually on separate Camions which begin in France.

When I returned home (USA) I tried to research the library (card catalog days - no internet yet) and found material only in either French or Spanish. I could only learn a bit of basic facts of this pilgrimage, not the whole story.

But I never lost my interest or curiosity about the Camino. Until I met a few people who had actually walked portions of the Frances, did I actually consider walking it myself. After my first Camino in 2004, I now consider myself addicted. May 4th I'll begin my 3rd Camino out of SJPDP, turning 76 a few days after my arrival.

I didn't know that choosing these two towns as overnight stops would lead to a Camino addiction - pure serendipity.

Love your story! I went to France in 2014 on a driving tour of France with my adult son. We stopped in Rocamadour for an afternoon as it was a beautiful cliffside village, but I never was aware it was part of a pilgrimage. Just shows how we are all unique and our experiences are as varied as our individual faces.

 

[nycwalking]

I discovered camino via church. The rector's wife was going for her b'day. I did some research, was trying to figure things out in life, price was right, a year later, off I went, and went, and went, and June 2017, I'm off again.

 

[Rebekah Scott]

Way back in 1993, when travel journalism was still a lovely "gravy train," this young US journo was invited by Tourist Office of Spain to write about "a new adventure tourism destination in northern Spain, the Camino de Santiago." They offered a week of expenses-paid, four-star travel from Roncesvalles to Compostela. I'd never been to Spain, spoke no Spanish, had no interest, but the pilgrimage idea was kinda cool... I went. It was spectacular.
My life changed forever.
I finally walked the whole thing myself in 2001.
Twenty-four years after that first discovery the Tourist Office has seen a zillion percent return on their investment, but I am the biggest winner of all.
The Camino is the home I never found anywhere else. I am part of something splendid, greater than anything I could ever otherwise have made of myself.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Way back in 1993, when travel journalism was still a lovely "gravy train," this young US journo was invited by Tourist Office of Spain to write about "a new adventure tourism destination in northern Spain, the Camino de Santiago." They offered a week of expenses-paid, four-star travel from Roncesvalles to Compostela. I'd never been to Spain, spoke no Spanish, had no interest, but the pilgrimage idea was kinda cool... I went. It was spectacular.
My life changed forever.
I finally walked the whole thing myself in 2001.
Twenty-four years after that first discovery the Tourist Office has seen a zillion percent return on their investment, but I am the biggest winner of all.
The Camino is the home I never found anywhere else. I am part of something splendid, greater than anything I could ever otherwise have made of myself.

What a beautiful and uplifting story!

 

[VNwalking]

Twenty-four years after that first discovery the Tourist Office has seen a zillion percent return on their investment, but I am the biggest winner of all.
The Camino is the home I never found anywhere else. I am part of something splendid, greater than anything I could ever otherwise have made of myself.

See, Reb? The Camino provides.

(But seriously? That's one of the best posts ever. Beautiful.
Heartfelt gratitude for being part of the living fabric that holds it all together--and being part of a lineage of hospitality that goes back a millennium.)

 

[Christian Hiriart]

I discovered the Camino when I was in grade 7 in Chile, which is a long time ago as I'm 61 years old now. Our teacher at the time asked the class to write a paper about the street we resided in, so we all did a story including the name of the street and why is had been name that way. My street was "Roncesvalles Street" which until then meant nothing to me, so I found out from that exercise that Roncesvalles was an important resting point in the Camino and had historical significance. While I was writing this paper I also discover that my father and my ancestor (and me) were Basque and that they came to Chile from a small village not far from Roncesvalles name "Hiriart" which is my last name.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

I don't remember when I first heard of the Camino, but I remember when I began to think about the Camino. Back in 2009 my mother was diagnosed with cancer, leukemia. The first week, when she started her treatment, she received a book about the Camino Frances. She and my father started to talk about it, and I think for my mum it became a dream and a hope. But she never got the possibility to walk, she died in 2012 and only 10 months after also my father died in cancer. So now I will walk the Camino Frances, in memory of my parents, but also for me, taking time for myself, when I still have the chance.

So sorry to hear of the loss of your parents in close proximity. I'm sure your Camino will hold a special place in your heart as you honor their memory. I am reminded of my own loss of my two parents, just 10 days apart. I was 43 years old, married with two kids and still felt like an orphan.

 

[Purple Backpack]

It's often written Via Limburgica, for some reason.
Map:
https://www.routeyou.com/nl-nl/rout...ia-limburgica-deel-van-santiago-de-compostela

Map of the many Caminos to Santiago in Europe:
https://www.travelblog.org/Photos/4961169

Thanks! This one was off my radar screen but close to one line of ancestors in Valenciennes and ?Prys, Belgium?. I'll put it on the ever growing list!

 

[maevlilu]

So sorry to hear of the loss of your parents in close proximity. I'm sure your Camino will hold a special place in your heart as you honor their memory. I am reminded of my own loss of my two parents, just 10 days apart. I was 43 years old, married with two kids and still felt like an orphan.

Thank you. I really think and hope my Camino will be special and now it is less than 2 months until I leave Norway for my Camino

 

[Anniesantiago]

My specialist prescribed long distance walking for my MCS.
Couldn't find anyplace in the USA where I felt safe walking alone as a woman.
A Catholic friend suggested the Camino, which I'd never heard of.
That was many, many Caminos ago . . . now I try to walk most years at least once.

 

[Reija]

2011 I was hiking in the Lofoten Islands and my hiking buddy had walked the Camino earlier that year. I loved listening to all her stories even if my own big dream back then was the Appalachian Trail. Half a year later I moved to Germany and live now right by the Saint James Way. Every single day I see the shell symbol and what should I say. The call just became and the call remains so strong!

 

[Purple Backpack]

2011 I was hiking in the Lofoten Islands...

We stayed in a fishing cabin in Reine in the Lofotens that same Norwegian trip. I have never seen anything so beautiful. Crystal clear water, vivid colors that looked like someone had dropped their watercolors and a Midnight Sun that changed the scenery by the minute. Absolutely incredible place that I can't wait to visit again.

 

[linkster]

I had been taking wilderness trips every summer with my two sons a couple weeks at a time including section hiking the AT. My father-in-law of all people gave me Joyce Rupp's Walk in a Relaxed Manner when I turned 50. Her experiences and the lessons sparked something within me. Maybe it was middle age, but my curiosity has turned into something more. It is hard to describe it concisely, not a destination, not a goal, maybe just something I need to experience to transition from one place in life to another. I am open minded about what the camino will provide ... maybe I will know the purpose of the calling when I get back home.

 

[Antonius Vaessen]

I first heard about Santiago de Compostela a long time ago, the first time I heard about the revival of the Camino was 10 perhaps 15 years ago. In the following years more and more information became available through books,articles and tvdocumentaries. Because I like long distance walking a lot, I was I interested in walking a Camino as soon as my children were grown up. Most of the information was about the Camino Frances. Allthough this Camino undoubtedly has much to offer, the many pilgrims that walk this route scared me of. In 2015 I walked the Via de La Plata, till I had to quit because of a muscle injury. In 2016 I finished the VdlP and walked the Camino Primitivo. Both of the caminos I liked very much, allthough the last two days on the Primitivo after joining the Frances confirmed all my fears. I surely will be back for another Camino, probably de Norte first.
(My not liking the Camino Frances probably is also influenced by the fact that I don't consider myself a "pilgrim", it's the walking I like next to the culture, the landscape, the beautifully landscape and last but certainly not least the meeting of so many different people from all countries, backgrounds and so on)

 

[Tuesday Wildchild]

Found it by moving to France and buying a house a mere five minutes from the Tours-Boardouex route and now walk/cycle parts of it twice daily within a 7km radius of home.

 

[Viejo]

I was posting on a thread for a first time pilgrim who was thinking of canceling their trip. It made me think back to when I first learned of pilgrimages, especially since they are not part of American culture and we don't have the history that Europeans are so very fortunate to have in their backyards. I am curious to see how others found out about these unique experiences and am looking forward to some good stories. I'll start things off:

July 19, 2011.

Our family arrived in Oslo, hoping to find my grandfather's farm and a heritage I craved to know more about. The area is gorgeous, filled with emerald valleys, deep, dark fjords and steep mountains. We wandered from Eidsvold to Vik, never finding the actual farm but stood in the ancestral churchyard, walked the banks of the fjords and pondered why my family left such a beautiful place, not realizing the challenges of a new country that lay ahead.

Three days later, a mad man destroyed young lives on an island near the hotel where we had stayed. As we traveled first to Bergen, then far north to the Arctic Circle, candles appeared in town squares and windows, in remembrance of the victims. It was a somber time for Norway and our traveling family, witnessing an open culture deal with horrific violence not seen since World War 2.

July 29, 2011.

The trip was timed to end in the city of Trondheim, to see the medieval festival of St. Olav, whose tomb was historically a place of miracles and an ancient pilgrimage site. I had read of jousting, costumed performers and an outdoor pageant play recreating Olav's last battle, complete with knights on horseback. It was so much fun and we ended our trip with midnight mass in the gothic cathedral. We arrived early and were touched to see mirrors lining the center aisle, filled with lit candles, sparkling in memory of the shooting victims. Vatican cardinals filed into the pews in front of us, bedecked in full red regalia from head to toe, to celebrate the life and death of the saint. This was all beautiful, sad and a little surreal but then something happened that caught me even more off guard.

Worshippers trickled in, dressed in hiking shorts, worn boots and carrying wooden staffs. We're from the mountains, where everyone dresses that way but not for church. I was intrigued and learned after the service that these were pilgrims, who had trekked for a month from Oslo to Trondheim to celebrate the life of this saint. They were at the mass to receive a blessing after their pilgrimage.

I came home from that trip, intrigued by the thought of walking with a spiritual purpose and, let's be honest, by the sheer adventure aspect of it. I learned the history of pilgrimages and studied all the various routes, fascinated that people had walked for hundreds or even thousands of years to Oslo, Jerusalem, Rome and Santiago de Compostela. This wasn't just a vacation, it was an entire culture that I desperately wanted to experience.

And so it began...

I'm not usually prone to mystical experiences, but about 2 years ago I had a dream about walking the camino. Prior to that I had read a little about the camino in a historical sense, but had no idea whatsoever that there were active current hikers walking to Santiago. The day after the dream I was waiting in my dentist's office and happened to spot in a magazine an article about hiking the camino. From that day my fate was sealed and I walked the CF in April and May of last year. One of the best experiences of my life...

 

[Playful Dread]

I like to think that The Camino discovered me!

 

[G_the_D]

My mother passed away in January 2017 . In relating the news to family and friends, my aunt told me thet we should go on camino. (she would pay for it...). She has had friends who have walked the CF.
I had never heard of the camino before this.
My aunt had the notion of doing the last 200 km in hotels and pensions.
I started researching the camino and realized that this might be what I had been waiting for for a long time.
I wrote a letter, handwritten (which I haven't done in years), to try to gently refuse and explain that if I am going to do the CF, I'm going to do it all, and I will do it on my own.

Where I expected resistance, I got warm acceptance.

Since then, things have changed. While loosely planning a camino in the future (TBD) another bombshell hit. That was the trigger.

I booked flights for 8 days out from that date and now I'm off. (in SJPDP on May 27)

We shall see what awaits when I get home, and I hope that I am up to whatever challenges await me on my return.

Buen Camino

Gord

 

[Purple Backpack]

...another bombshell hit. That was the trigger.I booked flights for 8 days out from that date and now I'm off. (in SJPDP on May 27)We shall see what awaits when I get home, and I hope that I am up to whatever challenges await me on my return.

Exploding bombshells can temporarily knock the wind out of one's sails. But they also can clean out an area so new perspectives/experiences can happen. Congrats on being gutsy enough for the spontaneous trip and wishing you all the best on your pilgrimage! Ultreya!